


A Friendly Ear

by afteriwake



Category: Sherlock (TV)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-08-24
Updated: 2015-08-24
Packaged: 2018-04-16 22:47:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,008
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4642893
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/afteriwake/pseuds/afteriwake
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After Sherlock gets John into another scrape that nearly causes John to get seriously injured he runs into a friend while getting his pain medication and vents a bit. Fortunately Molly is willing to lend a friendly ear.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Friendly Ear

**Author's Note:**

  * For [WinterRose16](https://archiveofourown.org/users/WinterRose16/gifts).



> So this was written as a gift for a friend of mine who has inspired a few fics, **WinterRose16** who wanted just a platonic John and Molly fic. This is set during the beginning of "The Reichenbach Fall," during the montage where they're showing all the different cases Sherlock and John had solved.

There were days he didn’t know why he bothered with Sherlock. Running around with Sherlock meant getting himself into dangerous situations. There had been the incident with the cabbie driver pulling a gun on Sherlock, then him and Sarah getting caught up with the Chinese assassins, then the incident with the bomb strapped to his chest, and the CIA agents in Irene’s home, and then being drugged at Baskerville…and those were only the more notable occasions during their association with each other. There were all sorts of minor scrapes that had happened along the way as well.

Last night he’d ended up with a sprained wrist, slightly wrenched back and a bruised shoulder. His arm was going to be in a sling for a few weeks while it healed up, which was going to be a pain in the arse when it came to doing things at the clinic and keeping up with keeping him and Sherlock fed without having to rely on takeaway. He just wanted to stop by the chemist to get his prescription filled and get back to Baker Street, take a pill and get some rest.

He was surprised to see a familiar face there, and he cleared his throat when he got behind her. Molly spun around and then gave him a grin, at least at first, until she took in the sight. “What happened?” she asked with wide eyes.

“Sherlock,” he said with a wry grin.

“Oh, the serial burglary case?” she asked. “It must have been a hell of an ending.”

“I got knocked down a flight of stairs,” he said sheepishly. “I mean, I know how to fall, thankfully. I could have been hurt worse.”

“Is someone going to take care of you?” she asked, shifting her hold of her basket holding her purchases.

“Mrs. Hudson might mother me a bit but I’m fairly sure I’ll be taking care of myself. I can’t rely on Sherlock to take care of me. The man can barely take care of himself. I mean, he’s better at it, but still. If he didn’t have me there to remind him to eat I doubt he would.”

“He has gotten much better,” Molly said. “I bet a lot of that is your doing.”

John ducked his head slightly, a bit embarrassed. “I can’t take all the credit. Mrs. Hudson does her part too.”

“You know, why don’t I come over with you and make you something for supper?” she suggested. “I can make enough for you and Sherlock, if he’s home.”

“A home cooked meal would be better than takeaway,” he mused. “Are you sure, though? You must have plans.”

She shook her head. “No. My life revolves around work and sitting at home watching the telly these days,” she said. “I…” She trailed off, turning a bit red at the cheeks. “After Jim, I just realized it probably wasn’t worth dating right now. I mean, maybe when he’s behind bars or in the ground, maybe then it’ll be okay.”

“You can’t put your social life on hold because you’re afraid you’ll date another psychopath,” John said with a frown.

“Well, look at who else I’m attracted to,” she said with a wry smile. “Sherlock goes around telling everyone he’s a high functioning sociopath. It’s not like that’s much better than a psychopath, if you really think about it.”

“You’ll find a good man who treats you like royalty and isn’t out of his bloody mind one day,” John said. “You’ll see.”

“That’d be lovely,” she said, her smile becoming more genuine. “And who knows? Maybe one day you’ll meet a woman who won’t mind that Sherlock can be a massive twat.”

John chuckled. “That woman would be my soul mate, I think,” he said. “Sherlock’s important to me. He saved my life. I owe him for that.”

“You know, you saved his, too,” she said.

John shook his head. “No I didn’t,” he said.

“No, you did,” she said. “He…cares, I suppose is the best way of putting it. He sees some of us as people and not objects now. And he’s nicer. He doesn’t have as many rough edges. And a lot of that has to do with you. You did something most of us had only wished we could do.”

“You think so?” he said.

“I do,” she said with a nod. She looked down at her purchases, as though she was making sure she had everything she needed, and when she was sure she did she looked up. “So! What do you want for supper tonight? I make very good bubble and squeak cakes and a delicious apple crumble.”

“Both of those sound very good,” he said with a grin. “Been a while since I’ve had a good apple crumble. Don’t tell Mrs. Hudson but hers isn’t all that great.”

“I’ll keep that between us,” she said as she chuckled. “Well, we can run by the supermarket and pick up what I need, so we don’t show up at the flat thinking we have it and then have it not be there, and if you already have it then I’ll just take it home with me.”

“At least let me pay for it all,” John said. “And you will be staying to eat with me, right? Or us, if Sherlock’s there.”

“Sure, if you really want me to,” she said. “Like I said, I didn’t have plans tonight. It beats a readymade meal and a night with my cat and Glee reruns.”

“Great! Let me pick up the prescription and then we can get to the market and be on our way,” he said with a grin. “Does that work for you?”

She nodded. “That’s just fine, John. I’ll go pay for these things and meet you back here, all right?”

“All right,” he said. She moved away to the registers and he grinned. It was good that he had a friend like Molly, he realized. It made dealing with a friend like Sherlock in his life even easier.


End file.
